Saskatchewan drivers show holiday cheer through rolling Christmas light displays

As Christmas nears, some Saskatchewan residents are spreading holiday cheer by decorating their trucks with festive lights. Damian Smith reports.

While Christmas lights on houses are a traditional way to celebrate the holidays, some people in Saskatchewan are providing some holiday cheer in a very different way.

Tanner Boulanger met with CTV News in front of the legislative building in Regina to share his project: a maze of Christmas lights on his truck.

Boulanger said it took three-hours to gather little pieces of tape and place them in particular spots surrounding his truck, but the hard work was worth it. Every day, he receives multiple comments.

“Some people want to take pictures with it, some people will come up out of nowhere and knock, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this,’ ” he said. “It’s quite different. I love to see when people love it though.”

It’s a similar story two hours south of Regina, where Brooks Milford is lighting up the night in Estevan. Despite being in a much smaller city, he’s received most positive comments in places such as the Walmart parking lot.

“It’s generally pretty good,” he said. “Lots of people love it. There’s a few people that don’t like it so much, but I think for the most part, most people like it.”

For Milford, it took a roll and a half of tape to cover over 1,000 feet of mini lights strung around the vehicle and more than 3,000 individual beaming lights.

However, decking out a vehicle in lights is not all fun and games, as there is plenty of planning involved.

“You have to take your time and make sure you got everything kind of aligned so you can open all your doors and everything, so you don’t lock yourself out,” Milford said.

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Boulanger ran into some challenges of his own.

“You have to make sure that you put the lights where you want to. Right now, my passenger door does not open because the lights cover it,” he said.

As colourful as they may be, the lights must be turned off when driving.

According to SGI, extra lights or equipment which make required lights harder to see are prohibited while driving on public roads due to safety and visibility concerns.

Drivers can also receive fines and may be forced to remove them.

Both Milford and Boulanger say they comply with the law. For them, it’s all about making spirits bright.

“I get to put a smile on someone else’s face. it puts a smile on mine,” Milford said. “So, it makes you feel good to be able to make someone else’s day better.”

Milford plans to bring his vehicle to a local nursing home as his next outing.